(CNN) – As he waited with parents who feared that their kids were among the 20 children killed at a Connecticut elementary school on Friday, Rabbi Shaul Praver said the main thing he could do for parents was to merely be present.

“It’s a terrible thing, families waiting to find out if their children made it out alive,” said Praver, who leads a synagogue in Newtown, Connecticut, and was among nine clergy gathered with parents at a firehouse near Sandy Hook Elementary School, where the shooting occurred.

“They’re going to need a lot of help,” Praver said of those who are close to the dead.

From the first moments after Friday’s massacre, which also left six adults and the shooter dead, religious leaders were among the first people to whom worried and grieving families turned for help.

Over the weekend, countless more Americans will look to clergy as they struggle to process a tragedy in which so many of the victims were children.

“Every single person who is watching the news today is asking ‘Where is God when this happens?’” says Max Lucado, a prominent Christian pastor and author based in San Antonio.

Lucado says that pastors everywhere will be scrapping their scheduled Sunday sermons to address the massacre.

“You have to address it - you have to turn everything you had planned upside down on Friday because that’s where people’s hearts are,” Lucado says.

“The challenge here is to avoid the extremes – those who say there are easy answers and those who say there are no answers.”

Indeed, many religious leaders on Friday stressed that the important thing is for clergy to support those who are suffering, not to rush into theological questions. A University of Connecticut professor on Friday hung up the phone when asked to discuss religious responses to suffering, saying, “This is an immense tragedy, and you want an academic speculating on the problem of evil?”

“There is no good answer at that time that anyone can hear and comprehend and take in,” said Ian T. Douglas, the bishop for the Episcopal diocese of Connecticut, referring to counseling family and friends of the dead. “They’re crying out from a place of deep pain.”

Praver, the rabbi, will join a memorial service Friday night at Newtown’s St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church.

“We’re going to have a moment of prayer for the victims,” Praver said of the service. “We cannot let it crush our spirit and we march on.”

Some national religious groups are also sending staff to Newtown, with 10 chaplains dispatched from the North Carolina-based Billy Graham Evangelistic Association on Friday.

Public officials including President Obama, meanwhile, turned to the Bible in responding to the shooting. “In the words of Scripture, 'heal the brokenhearted and bind up their wounds,' ” Obama said from the White House, citing the book of Psalms.

Some religious leaders argue that modern American life insulates much of the nation from the kind of senseless death and suffering that plagues much of the world every day.

“Most of the world, for most of the world’s history, has known tragedy and trauma in abundance,” wrote Rob Brendle, a Colorado pastor, in a commentary for CNN’s Belief Blog after this summer’s deadly shooting in Aurora, Colorado, which left 12 dead.

“You don’t get nearly the same consternation in Burundi or Burma, because suffering is normal to there,” wrote Brendle, who pastored congregants after a deadly shooting at his church five years ago. “For us, though, God has become anesthetist-in-chief. To believe in him is to be excused from bad things.”

Lucado said there was an eerie irony for the Connecticut tragedy coming just before Christmas, noting the Bible says that Jesus Christ’s birth was followed by an order from King Herod to slay boys under 2 in the Roman city of Bethlehem.

“The Christmas story is that Jesus was born into a dark and impoverished world,” Lucado says. “His survival was surrounded by violence. The real Christmas story was pretty rough.”

Many religious leaders framed Friday’s shooting as evidence for evil in the world and for human free will in the face of a sovereign God.

“The Bible tells us the human heart is ‘wicked’ and ‘who can know it?’” the Rev. Franklin Graham said in a statement about the massacre. “My heart aches for the victims, their families and the entire community.”

Many religious leaders also said that such tragedies are a good time for lay people to express doubts about God – or anger.

“This is a time to go deep and pray,” says Lucado. “If you have a problem with God, shake a fist or two at him. If he’s God, he’s going to answer. And if he’s in control, he’ll find a way to let you know.

soundoff(9,195 Responses)

Trajk Logik

If everything that happens in this world is the will of God, then that means that this act of violence was the will of God. You can't have it both ways and say that God is omnipotent and omniscient AND say we have free-will. To say otherwise is to fail to reason logically.
Some are saying that God has left humanity to run things and we have ruined it. But this makes no sense. Violence has declined since Biblical times.

We are more enlightened and extend human rights to everyone. We have also increased our lifespan, which believers have no problem utilizing the science and technology that logic and reason have created. If your argument is that God has let us run things and we have ruined it, does that mean that you would rather be living in the 21st century, or the 1st century?

December 15, 2012 at 8:13 am |

Margie

Where is God you ask ? WHERE IS GOD!!!!!!! DON'T YOU REMEMBER ! OUR SURPREME COURT DOES NOT ALLOW GOD IN OUR SCHOOLS..........But Evil is allowded to just walk in and Kill Our Kids !!!!!!

December 15, 2012 at 8:05 am |

SixDegrees

So why are the school administrators, state school board members and the Supreme Court safe at home with their families, while 20 blameless children are dead?

There is no god.

December 15, 2012 at 8:07 am |

David

Oh, so the devil did it. It's that kind of "thinking" that keeps our society it simple headed worst. There is no god. The sooner we all recognize that and deal with it the better off our world would be. Get over these stone age, childish beliefs.

December 15, 2012 at 8:17 am |

Blah blah the wheel's off your trailer

Good comment. Its that seperation of church and state thing.

December 15, 2012 at 8:18 am |

Blah blah the wheel's off your trailer

@SixDegrees

The better question to ask is why gun advocates in congress and members of the NRA safe while these 20 kids are dead. Then the next best question to ask is why don't our Pentagon publish on the internet, where these gun advocates live and where their kids go to school and where their wives go shopping??? I bet the MF's start getting serious about gun control immediately.

December 15, 2012 at 8:22 am |

SImran

Really Maggie!!!
Now God needs permi.s.sion! Wow, what a God you have made up for yourself I must say.
Oh, maybe, your God was pis.sed coz they stopped bu.ttering him at school!

December 15, 2012 at 8:23 am |

sam stone

god does not belong in our public schools. have as many hissyfits as you like, it won't change the fact of the matter

December 15, 2012 at 10:44 am |

aurelius

It's not god people should ask why, but the IRA and the gun freaks. For my part, I left the US a long time ago. You people are nuts!

December 15, 2012 at 8:01 am |

SixDegrees

The IRA isn't in the US (not much, anyway); they're pretty much mostly in Ireland.

December 15, 2012 at 8:05 am |

aurelius

Sorry, meant the NRA.

December 15, 2012 at 8:08 am |

George

Atheist are men of reason. Just ask Josef Stalin.

December 15, 2012 at 7:57 am |

Reality

Bill Gates and Warren Buffett are either agnostics or atheists depending on what biography you read.

@SixDegrees: The "No True Scotsman" fallacy pervades Christian thinking. When believers don't receive what the scriptures promise or they don't behave in a manner with what their religion teaches one of the most common rationalizations it that they weren't "true" Christians.

December 15, 2012 at 8:22 am |

David

Geez George, that sounds like a comment coming from someone who doesn't not Stalin. Well two can play at that game. Wasn't Hitler doing God's work?

December 15, 2012 at 8:26 am |

Blaster

Hitler was just one one them, there's plenty of atheists that did just as bad.

http://thriceholy.net/killersf.html

December 15, 2012 at 8:30 am |

sam stone

Josef Stalin is dead,

December 15, 2012 at 10:47 am |

Dee

IF you believe there is NO God..................you better be right because when HE returns, your belief will definitely be smokin' in the end...................

December 15, 2012 at 7:56 am |

SixDegrees

This is Pascal's Wager. It has been recognized as a fallacy for hundreds of years.

Dee
Does it make you feel christian to threaten people that do not agree with your beliefs with damnation? How pathetic.
Time for Ganhdi...I like your christ but I do not like your christians. Your christians are so unlike your christ.

December 15, 2012 at 8:05 am |

saggyroy

I will get to the pearly gates to give an account of myself and say "Ooops ! My bad".

December 15, 2012 at 8:07 am |

Blaster

Gandhi also quotes about atheism. "It amazes me to find an intelligent person who fights against something which he does not at all believe exists."

@Blaster: I have never seen an atheist fight against God. If anything, we fight believers determination to believe myths and fantasies for which there is no evidence. God doesn't exist, but their foolishness in believing he exists is very real.

If I'm wrong and there is a God, the first thing I will ask him is why, if it was so important to believe in him, was he so careful to leave no evidence of his existence.

December 15, 2012 at 8:26 am |

David

That's hilarious. Believing out of fear. What kind of god is that would punish someone with eternal pain and suffering because they use the intelligence he "gave" them? It's the 2nd grader intelligence that will be the death of all.

December 15, 2012 at 8:29 am |

Blaster

@Skytag

Don't bother, you won't have time to ask God why?

December 15, 2012 at 8:32 am |

sam stone

Dee: If you believe in god, but god turns out to be different than you imagine, you could be as screwed as you imply that non believers are with yours

December 15, 2012 at 10:51 am |

Blah blah the wheel's off your trailer

I have a solution for these kinds of shootings in our schools and public facilities. I also have a solution to solve the gun control problem in America. First and foremost, my heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims of this heinous tragedy and to the grief stricken. Presently the United States has roughly half a million troops stationed in countries around the world, providing and maintaining securities to those regions and countries. However, our borders are invested with violent drug trafficers who bring deadly drugs into our communities day in and day outYet, we have only 21,000 troops safeguarding our borders. So why is this? We have half a million troops around the globe, providing security to countries who don't like us but we have only 21,000 troops safeguarding our borders against terrorism and trug trafficing who are harming our citizens and destroying our communities. I believe that is inexcusable.

Now what can be done to safeguard our schools and public facilities such as shopping malls around the country? I say that unless our congress is going to take drastic actions, not to overhaul our second amendment but rather to implement harsher gun laws, then congress needs to make it MANDATORY for every state in the Union to be required to establish and implement a swat team in every elementary, middle, and high school, college and university and shopping malls across these United States of America. It is now clear that the only kinds of barbarians who kill helpless innocent Americans are deranged coward lunatics and it is also evident that these coward lunatics will NOT target someone they believe is heavily armed.Therefore, as a concerned American I am pleading with our federal and state governments to make it mandatory for all schools and public facilities such as shopping malls to establish swat teams within their facilities to protect our citizens from these domestic terrorists.

December 15, 2012 at 7:56 am |

Blah blah the wheel's off your trailer

Now, what can be done to get influential gun advocates in congress and across the country to come to the negotiating table and draw a line and say enough is enough and that its time to act NOW and take drastic measures to make it harder for assault weapons to end up in the hands of deranged lunatics? Yesterday I was watching CNN and Doctor Drew told Wolf Blitzer that the best way for families to deal with troubled siblings is to talk to them and try to understand what they might be going through and to be as supportive as possible to help them overcome their mental problems and depression. Well, I agree. I believe that should be the first step. Then what should the second step to rehabilitate these kinds of deranged individuals? I say unless the NRA and gun advocates in congress are willing to take drastic measures to control the flow of deadly assault weapons into our communities, then someone in our Pentagon needs to make public, a list of these gun advocates and publish on the internet where they live and where their kids go to school. Then these deranged lunatics across the country should be given assault weapons and a list of these gun advocates, their place of residence and schools where their kids attend. Walla...problem solved.

December 15, 2012 at 8:13 am |

rofl

At your moms house.

December 15, 2012 at 7:54 am |

AJ

Religious folks: I hear the phrase "Pray for these people". How does prayer benefit them?

December 15, 2012 at 7:51 am |

Blaster

Atheists just sitting there running their big mouths doesn't help either.

December 15, 2012 at 8:13 am |

khalid

U cnn ((( Dan Gilgoff author of this blog, stop playing GOLF )) 111111 We have not been commanded to identify the exact ,,'physical location',, of God; rather our responsibility is to recognize God, build a strong relationship with Him, affirm His exaltedness , affirm His Oneness, worship Him, obey His commands and abstain from His prohibitions. 222222 "Indeed, We have created man, and We know whatever thoughts his inner self develops, and We are closer to him than [his] jugular vein."....
33333333 "He is with you wherever you are..."

A quick search will put the kibosh on any other groups calling themselves a religion.

e.g. Taoism

"The origins of Taoism are unclear. Traditionally, Lao-tzu who lived in the sixth century is regarded as its founder. Its early philosophic foundations and its later beliefs and rituals are two completely different ways of life. Today (1982) Taoism claims 31,286,000 followers.

Legend says that Lao-tzu was immaculately conceived by a shooting star; carried in his mother's womb for eighty-two years; and born a full grown wise old man. "

@Bonnie – Basically Christians believe God is willing to do great things for them, but he never does because they aren't good enough. God never fails to protect anyone, be they these children or six million Jews in WWI because he doesn't exist, it's always their fault because they haven't prayed enough, been faithful enough, sacrificed enough or in general, weren't perfect enough to warrant his protection. No one makes excuses better than a Christian.

December 15, 2012 at 7:45 am |

Blaster

If you go in that city where the killing happened you will find religious people doing different acts of goodness to help those in needs. But you will not find a single mouthy atheist there trying to help anyone. Atheists are too busy spending their entire time on the internet running their big mouth.

December 15, 2012 at 8:53 am |

SmellsLikeDooDoo

Where's God?? – Right in front of your face BLINDO. Yes, people die on earth – is it too hard to conceive? The bible says in the "last" days – it's going to be the WORST time in history – worse than the Dark Ages. Most of the people who don't believe in God – don't believe because when you're all ALONE – in your room, door closed, sitting in the DARK – H e doesn't help you with your despair, fear, anxiety, and DEPRESSION. Like the song says "Everybody feels we walk alone without a friend – when you feels your life's to hard – go hand have a talk with God (by Stevie Wonder)

December 15, 2012 at 7:44 am |

Reality

The Apostles' Creed 2011: (updated based on the studies of historians and theologians during the past 200 years)

I might believe in a god whose existence cannot be proven
and said god if he/she/it exists resides in an unproven,
human-created, spirit state of bliss called heaven.

I believe there was a 1st century CE, Jewish, simple,
preacher-man who was conceived by a Jewish carpenter
named Joseph living in Nazareth and born of a young Jewish
girl named Mary. (Some say he was a mamzer.)

Jesus was summarily crucified for being a temple rabble-rouser by
the Roman troops in Jerusalem serving under Pontius Pilate,

He was buried in an unmarked grave and still lies
a-mouldering in the ground somewhere outside of
Jerusalem.

Said Jesus' story was embellished and "mythicized" by
many semi-fiction writers. A bodily resurrection and
ascension stories were promulgated to compete with the
Caesar myths. Said stories were so popular that they
grew into a religion known today as Catholicism/Christianity
and featuring dark-age, daily wine to blood and bread to body rituals
called the eucharistic sacrifice of the non-atoning Jesus.

Amen

(references used are available upon request)

December 15, 2012 at 7:51 am |

AJ

Your perspective on people who do not share you belief in fairy tales says a lot about you. If they are all alone in the dark, how would you know?

Someone feels threatened. Unable to provide even a shred of evidence that anything you believe about God is true you resort to name-calling and insults.

December 15, 2012 at 8:03 am |

Blaster

Isn't what atheism is all about, insulting people and name calling? Don't tell it's not because i'm not that stupid you now.

December 15, 2012 at 8:34 am |

josefo rodriguez

God is the creator of all things and he is everywhere but unless you let him come into your heart then you have no relationship with him. You ask where's God? And the answer is "not in our schools". We removed him from our schools. Don't blame God, you have no right to blame God but to blame the system that allows all of these folks purchase all of these high power automatic weapons the same way you go and purchase a pound of cheese at the grocery store. Action and laws need to be put in place. The quetion you should be asking is why did his mother owned all of these weapons? Was it necessary for her to own such powerful weapons? And I mean weapons.......

December 15, 2012 at 7:44 am |

Damocles

@josefo

For fvck sake would you make up your mind! If your deity is everywhere it can't be removed from anywhere. If it can be removed, it isn't everywhere nor everything. Sheesh!!

December 15, 2012 at 7:47 am |

SixDegrees

Not even a little big convincing. Got can't be everywhere and be removable; these two attributes contradict one another.

By the way – why would I worship a god who kills children? If he's all torqued off over being removed from the schools and the embarrassment that must cause him, being unremovable and all, why are all the school administrators, board of education members and state officials who preside over the schools happily sitting at home with their families?

There is no god. That is the simplest, most reasonable explanation for his non-behavior and non-intervention in this incident.

You believe in God because you prefer that narrative to the alternative. One does not need God to have guidelines by which to live.

December 15, 2012 at 7:54 am |

Trajk Logik

You see, that's the problem. You don't need God to know what is wrong from right. You just need to be raised within a certain society, and what is wrong or right is what is deemed wrong or right by the society you were raised in. Look in other countries around the globe, at the different customs that we see as inhumane, or wrong, it is the right thing to do for them. Which society is the right one to live in? There isn't one. Good and evil are subjective, and not always the same for everyone. But because we are the same species we do share many views of morality, and it creates the illusion of an objective morality.
If you study other religions you will see that the Bible is one of the violent text. Jainism is the most non-violent peaceful religions and started before Jesus was born. Jesus also said to kill you children if they are disobedient:
Mathew CH 15 v. 4 For God commanded saying, Honour thy father and mother; and , He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.
And there's much more commandments of violence against non-believers, where God commands that all of them, including women children and farm animals should be killed.
It's amazing how little people know about their own religion, or how they cherry-pick what they like to create their own subjective religion or view of God.

December 15, 2012 at 7:57 am |

Chozo

Many Atheists do have guidelines. The golden rule is all that is needed for a safe and peaceful world. If you need fear of god to make you behave, then you have some growing up to do.

December 15, 2012 at 8:02 am |

Blaster

Atheists have no guidelines and no morals.

December 15, 2012 at 8:04 am |

TruthPrevails :-)

You seem to be assuming that he (the madman) was an Atheist. Studies show that less than 1% of prisoners in the USA are Atheist and that approximately 75% are christian. (http://current.com/community/92831935_atheists-supply-less-than-1-of-prison-populations-while-christians-make-up-75.htm)

December 15, 2012 at 8:18 am |

Mirosal

We have more than you think we do. But since you don't think, let me spell it out for you. We help others because we WANT to, not because some moldy Iron-age book commands us to, under fear of eternal damnation. We fully agree to let you practice YOUR faith. We really don't mind, nor do we care. We start to care when you get in our faces and tell us in no uncertain terms that we are damned by your "god" because we don't believe as you do. We also mind when you insist that your religious views be used to influence my CIVIL laws. You seem to forget that there are millions of people in this contry who do not practice YOUR faith. Why do you feel it necessary to push your faith upon them with legislation? Remember, freedom of religion also includes freedom FROM religion as well.

December 15, 2012 at 8:27 am |

Blaster

Theses statistics have no solid foundations, most were done by atheists themselves. It's easy to manipulate a population with numbers created to serve our needs.

December 15, 2012 at 8:41 am |

sam stone

i know right from wrong

and the word is "your", not "you're"

December 15, 2012 at 10:57 am |

Grizz

School boards pushed God's influence out of the schools. So what fills the voids....? Duh

December 15, 2012 at 7:37 am |

Darlene

I agree 100% ....the only hope for America is to bring the Bible and ten commandments back into the schools. If not, it is only going to keep getting worse. The moral status of our country is grieving the heart of God and Satan is having a hayday. It's time to wake up, America!!!!!! Gun control is not the answer...this is a heart issue!!!! 150 years ago every household owned a gun and you did not hear of violence happening like this. It's because the people were taught morals and respect for human life. Bring the Bible back & put tougher control on the video games these people are playing. It's time to turn our hearts back to the one who created us.

December 15, 2012 at 8:18 am |

TruthPrevails :-)

Education and reality fill the void!!! This has nothing to do with belief...this was a madman; this is due to the ease of access to weapons (in this case they were in his Mother's home); this is due to many things but not due to taking your particular flavor of imaginary friend out of schools.
The ten commandments are absurd: the first four demand worship; the rest are things that should be obvious...as an Atheist I know that killing is wrong; I know that there are consequences for my actions-I don't need a book to tell me right from wrong! I am very capable of living a good life. I am capable of thinking for myself.

December 15, 2012 at 8:26 am |

lysh

I thought god was all powerful? I thought he was everywhere?

The one simple question that gets to the heart of this is: could god have prevented this?

Sounds like you're saying "no", because we kicked him out of schools. How ridiculous. Your god abandoned these 20, innocent children (most of them church going, believing in and praying to god), and left them to get massacred. Good luck reconciling this.

December 15, 2012 at 8:39 am |

sam stone

if a group of low level bureaucrats can push god out, it ain't much of a god

December 15, 2012 at 11:00 am |

pervert alert

Now that atheists and or qu eers are given more voice this is the kind of thing we can expect. Things will be getting much worse for all mankind. Qu eers the people who gave the world AIDS.

So is this your god's way of punishing us? By letting 20 innocent, god worshiping children get massacred? How petty and pathetic. "Worship me! or I will allow your children to be murdered!". That's your god?

I think religious folks should stick to their script and say, "we don't know why god does what he does". It's not much better, but it's 1000 times better than your answer.

December 15, 2012 at 8:45 am |

Blaster

No we won't be sticking to our scripts asking those questions, but we are watching you spreading aids and syphilis all over the worlds. As much as we're trying to rid those diseases you are spreading it even faster than our action to stop it.

December 15, 2012 at 8:57 am |

sam

There is not god, if our public education system was actually good people would question this and begin to apply logic and reason to everything in their life including the philosophies of what they've been religiously indoctrinated into.

We don't need god or rituals of religion for anything today, we can explain the world around us through science, and that is why you don't see anyone doing a "rain dance" during the summer months, because we know how rain works now.

December 15, 2012 at 7:34 am |

james

be careful worshipping scientists. they just caught a lot of them in UK falsifying data for publishing and of course wealth.

December 15, 2012 at 7:42 am |

SixDegrees

"be careful worshipping scientists. they just caught a lot of them in UK falsifying data for publishing and of course wealth."

Be careful worshipping god. He just killed, or allowed to be killed, 20 very young children. Scores of his representatives have been charged with pedophilia, and their crimes were hidden and the perpetrator protected by god's church. His pastors have been accused, found guilty and imprisoned countless times for defrauding congregants of money and enriching themselves through their donations. And the list goes on and on and on and on...

I think it's clear from history that following religious fanatics has caused a lot more harm that following some dishonest scientists.

December 15, 2012 at 7:48 am |

Damocles

@james

For the love of.....

How many people worship scientists, james? Yes, some people get caught falsifying things. I'm sure no believer has ever been caught in a lie....

December 15, 2012 at 7:49 am |

james

wow, look at the atheists get all upset. all i did was report on something I read and you are right to be mad about the perverts in the pews but this does not solve ANYTHING go to jw,org for the answers or talk and listen to them when they come by. they may just have something great for you.

December 15, 2012 at 8:03 am |

Chozo

"I'm sure no believer has ever been caught in a lie" – that's too funny. Given that there is no god the founders of all religions are liars! The fact is people are born into a religion and through fear of death are taught to fear living 'without god'. It takes much bravery and honesty for people to accept the truth and abandon religion. Sadly, religion seems to foster bigotry in some people instead of curing it.

If god doesent exist why are so many of you mad at him. There are many believers iand non believers who are right here we need to turn our ways around come together and get rid of the violent influences that plague our world and believer or not there needs to be aggreence on that and a combined effort towards it.

The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.